Orange Crush
by Lipton Lee
Summary: Richard and Emily have their first formal encounter with the Mariano Boys… Sequel to The Orange Soda Will Get You Every Time.
1. Default Chapter

AN to the Max!: Yeah, this is the Sequel to The Orange Soda Will Get You Ever Time… it picks up a couple of months after the original… so… mid January, since OS was in late November. I don't know how its going to turn out, or how it will compare to the original… I just know that I wanted to write this, and it's fun, and I smile when I write Dan. So here. I hope you like it :)

Rating: A mild pg-13… he's five for Christ's sake!

Summary: Richard and Emily have their first formal encounter with the Mariano Boys… hehehe.

Thanks to Elise for the beta, and for Lydia, who makes pretty pictures, and Marissa, and anyone else who has had a sucky, sucky day.

**Orange Crush **Pt. 1

"Let me see if I understand this correctly," Emily said. "You and Jess… the boy who up and left you in high school, and broke your heart… are back together. And he has a son?"

Rory nodded slowly. "That's the basic gist."

"What happened to all those nice boys I was introducing you to?"

"I didn't care for them," Rory replied. "I… I love Jess."

Emily stared.

Lorelai watched from her spot next to Rory. "Mom, spontaneous combustion is not ladylike."

Emily blinked. "What?"

"Nothing," Lorelai smiled.

"So, Jess has a son… was he married?" Emily asked.

"Engaged when Dan was born," Rory replied.

"So what happened?"

"She left," Rory said with a shrug. "Jess has been raising Dan on his own."

"Dan's a great kid, Mom," Lorelai interjected. "You're gonna love him."

"Oh?" Emily replied. "And when do I get to meet him?"

Rory stared. "Uh…"

Lorelai cringed.

oooooooooo

"Thanks, Mom." 

"I didn't mean to," Lorelai defended. "I was trying to be helpful."

They walked over to Lorelai's jeep and got in.

"I know," Rory sighed. "I was just hoping to have more time to prepare them."

"I hope Mom doesn't try and chew Dan up and spit him out," Lorelai frowned.

Rory started the car and frowned as well.

ooooooooo

Jess and Dave watched as Dan tried for the umpteenth time to do a back flip.

"Remind me again why we rented three Jet Li movies."

Dave shook his head. "Don't remember."

"Huh."

Dan tried once more and banged his still-healing leg on the coffee table. "OW!"

"Careful," Jess warned.

"I almost had it that time!"

Dave chuckled. "You okay?"

"Do we have any more movies to watch?" Dan asked.

"Hudson Hawke," Jess replied.

"Really?!" Dan cried. "I love that one! Can we watch it?"

Jess sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late."

"No it's not!" Dan squeaked. "I can stay up forever!"

"I'm sure you could, but you'd be hell to deal with," Jess replied. He walked over, and sighed. "How about this… you take your bath, and get ready for bed, and if you're not tired afterwards, we'll start the movie."

Dan nodded. "Okay!" He got up and rushed off to the bathroom.

Jess sighed and followed, glancing at Dave. "We'll be back."

Dave smirked and nodded. "I'm gonna grab a beer."

Jess nodded, and disappeared down the hallway, just as the front door opened.

Dave smirked. "Hey, Rory. How was dinner?"

She sighed.

He frowned. "That bad?"

"Let's just say, Jess might be a little more upset about it than I am," Rory replied.

"Uh-oh," Dave said. He took an extra beer out of the refrigerator and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she smiled, accepting it, and twisting off the cap. "Where are the boys?"

"It's bath time," Dave replied.

Rory smirked and took a sip. "Ah, so I should expect a naked five-year-old to run out in a few seconds."

"Nope," Dave shook his head. "They have a movie deal."

Rory nodded. "So… how happy do you think Jess will be when I tell him that he and Dan are scheduled to come to Friday dinner with me next week?"

Dave stared. "You might want to start lining up other prospective boyfriends," he told her. "Either that, or start making out your will."

She sighed slowly, and looked up when she heard a loud thump from the bathroom. "Uh-oh."

"I don't even wanna know," Dave shook his head.

Rory nodded, and walked down the hallway. She knocked on the bathroom door. "Guys?"

"Ow…"

"Jess?"

"I'm okay," he replied. "Just… slipped."

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!"

"Fine, I'm fine," he replied.

She opened the door, to find Jess on the floor, holding a hand to his left eye. "I'm fine."

"You hit your eye," Rory replied, kneeling down in front him, and pulling his hand from his face. The skin around his eye was swelling up quickly. "Oh, no…"

Dan sat in the bathtub, looking guilty. "It's my fault. I splashed him, and a whole bunch got on the floor and he slipped, and hit his head on the tub."

"Sokay, Dan," Jess replied. "I'm fine."

"You fell."

Rory frowned. "It looks bad…"

"Great," Jess muttered.

Dan sniffled a little. "I'm sorry."

Jess sighed. "Rory, can you get him out of the tub? I think he's clean enough."

"No!" Dan squeaked. "I don't want Rory to see me naked!"

"I'll close my eyes," Rory said.

"But what if you slip and get hurt, too?" Dan asked.

Jess sighed and got to his feet. "I'll get him."

"Jess," Rory said, biting her lip.

"I'm fine," Jess snapped. "Everybody back off."

Rory shook her head and walked out of the bathroom.

"You shouldn't have been so mean," Dan told him.

Jess didn't reply.

"I'm sorry I hurt your eye," Dan said quietly, as Jess lifted him out of the tub, and wrapped him in towel. "Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Jess told him as he helped him into his pajamas. "It was an accident." He took the towel and rubbed Dan's hair a little.

"No movie tonight," Dan muttered.

"Tomorrow night," Jess replied. "It's late. You should get some sleep, and I need ice."

Dan nodded and turned around to leave the bathroom.

Jess sighed. "Dan… I'm sorry I was mean."

Dan turned and smiled and hugged Jess.

Jess sighed and patted him on the head before picking him up. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

oooooooooooo

Rory looked up when Jess walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the freezer.

"Hi," she said. "Dave went home. He says 'bye."

Jess nodded as he pulled out a few cubes of ice and dropped them into a plastic baggy.

Rory sighed. "I'm really sorry I got pushy…"

"It's not your fault," Jess muttered, placing the bag of ice on his eye. "I'm just not in a good mood."

"With good reason," Rory nodded. "I would be cranky too if I hit my eye on a bathtub." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You gonna be okay?"

He nodded. "I'll be okay…" He smirked jokingly. "Just keep me away from your grandmother and I should be absolutely perfect."

Rory bit her bottom lip.

Jess took the ice off and stared at her. "Rory…"

"It's not my fault," she told him quickly. "I finally told her that we were together, and Mom and I were trying to… talk you and Dan up… see if we could earn you some points for being a single dad through no fault of your own, and earn Dan some points for being cute, and Mom was just being nice, and told Grandma that she would love Dan, and then…"

"We got ordered over for dinner," Jess finished.

Rory nodded. "I am so sorry."

"So… I'm going to have dinner with Emily Gilmore sporting a black eye… again."

Rory rubbed a hand up and down his side. "At least I know you didn't get beat up by Dean this time."

"Hey," Jess snapped, replacing the ice. "The one time Dean and I got into a fight, I won."

"Yes, Jess."

He glared the best he could with his still-swelling eye.

She smiled a little and kissed him.

oooooooooooo

Rory sighed when she walked into the kitchen the next morning, and found Jess sitting at the kitchen table, his left eye black. "Auditioning to be a member of TLC?"

He grumbled and took a sip off coffee.

She snickered and kissed the top of his head. "Dan's not up yet?"

"Not yet," Jess replied.

She sighed, and went over to the large cupboard to retrieve her Saturday morning Pop Tarts, and opened it up.

"HI RORY!"

She screamed and jumped back at the sight of Dan sitting in the cabinet, holding a bottle of Sunkist.

"Want some soda?!"

Rory put a hand to her chest and breathed heavily. "What are you doing in there?!"

Dan grinned. "I wanted to surprise you!"

Jess fought to hold back a chuckle.

Rory spun to Jess. "This was your idea."

Jess shook his head. "I didn't even know he was in there."

"You had to," Rory pointed out. "You got the coffee filters out of there!"

"I took them out before I got in," Dan giggled.

"How thoughtful of you," Rory replied.

"This is what you get for spending your weekend with boys," Jess pointed. "He used to do that to me all the time, before I started waking up before he did."

Rory sighed heavily and lifted Dan out of the cabinet. "You are a kooky little kid."

Dan giggled and took another sip of soda.

"Sugar high," Jess muttered, taking another sip of coffee.

Rory set Dan down on the table and sighed. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," Dan nodded.

"And I need you to be serious," Rory went on.

Dan nodded and took another sip.

"Next Friday, you and your dad are gonna come with me to dinner at my grandparents' house," Rory told him.

"You have grandparents?" Dan asked, bewildered.

Rory nodded.

"But you're so old!"

Rory sighed. "My age is not the point. The point is… we're going for dinner… and you have to be on your best behavior."

Dan nodded. "Okay!"

"Okay?" Rory asked.

Dan nodded again.

Rory smiled and ruffled his hair. "Okay." She walked over to the cabinet again to get her pop tarts.

Jess winked at Dan with his good eye, and Dan smiled, and sipped his soda.


	2. Orange Crush 2

A/N: Sorry this is so late…I've been busy and crazy and…gwar…. Anwyays, hopefully the next chap won't be too far in the future.

**Orange Crush #2**

Saturday was spent in pajamas, watching cartoons, and reading books. Sunday was designated to be shopping day.

They both looked completely miserable as they followed Rory around the crowded mall.

Jess hated malls, and, in his mind, had taught Dan well, since the little boy hated them, too. They did most of their clothes shopping at thrift stores, rock concerts and army surpluses. It must have been something in the genetics, because both Jess's uncle and father hated malls as well. "Urban sprawl!" Luke would shout. "Evil teeny-boppers!" Jimmy would complain.

Dan hated the crowds, mostly. He knew very well that he was not very tall (especially since Dean had taken to calling him "Shorty"), and he was worried that he might get run over. He clung to Jess's hand tightly, and tried to stay out of everyone's way.

Jess sighed. "What are we doing here again?"

"Looking for nice clothes for Dan to wear to my grandparents' house," Rory replied as she led them into the Lord and Taylor.

Dan developed a worried expression. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing," Rory replied quickly. "They're just not dressy enough to wear to dinner."

"I wanna wear my Bob Dylan shirt!"

Rory blinked and turned to Jess, looking confused.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Blame my mother."

Rory stifled a laugh and lifted Dan into her arms as they walked to the children's department. "How about a nice sweater?"

Dan wrinkled his nose.

Rory frowned. "A dress shirt?"

"Ew," the little boy complained.

She sighed. "Dan…"

"Don't blame him, it's my fault," Jess admitted. "I never taught him the meaning of dressing nice."

"He's never had to dress up?" Rory asked.

Jess shook his head.

"I don't wanna dress up," Dan said. "I want orange soda."

Rory shook her head and turned to Jess. "You're right. It's your fault."

Jess sighed. "Dan, come on. It's just a sweater."

Dan pouted.

Jess glared. "Don't do that."

"I don't wanna sweater," Dan said quietly. "They're itchy."

"You can wear a shirt underneath," Jess promised.

"Can I have a black sweater?" Dan asked hopefully.

Rory smiled.

oooooo

"Shoes!"

"Shoes?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded.

"He's five, he can wear his chucks."

Rory sighed.

"Rory… the sweater was fifty bucks," Jess complained. "I'm not spending another fifty on shoes."

"Pants?"

"He has slacks," Jess said.

"Nice ones?" Rory asked.

"Nice enough," Jess replied.

"Fine," Rory replied, reaching up to kiss him.

"Aren't you afraid of cooties?" Dan asked, wrinkling his nose at them.

Jess pulled away from Rory and wrapped an arm around her. "I got a cootie shot."

"Can I get one?"

"When you're older," Jess replied. "Ready to get outta this dump?"

Dan sighed. "I'm hungry," he announced.

"Oh!" Rory smiled. "Food court!"

"Food what?" Dan asked.

She blinked and turned to Jess. "Has he ever even been inside a mall?"

Jess shook his head. "Nope."

Rory gasped and lifted Dan up to cuddle him. "You poor baby! You've never been to a food court!"

Jess sighed.

"Please, Jess?" Rory pleaded. "Please can we go to the food court?"

"Please, Dad?" Dan joined in.

Jess shook his head. "Fine. Fine. Let's go."

"Yay!" Rory cried. She set Dan down and he ran ahead a little.

"Don't get lost, please!" Jess called after him. He sighed and glanced at Rory. "You know, you get more like your mother every day."

"Thank you," Rory beamed.

"Rory?!" Dan called from ahead.

The two adults sped up to join him. "What's up?" Rory asked.

"I don't know where the food court is!" he cried, a little distraught.

Rory snickered and took his hand, pointing in the other direction. "This way."

"Okay!" Dan cried, leading her.

Jess smirked and shook his head, following close behind.

ooooooo

Dan looked around the food court in complete awe.

He wanted to eat everything there.

"What'll it be?" Jess asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Dan looked around again and smiled. "Everything!"

Rory cracked a smile. "You got it!" She lifted Dan into her arms and marched off to get one item from each place in the food court.

Jess sighed, annoyed. "Jeez, no! He'll puke!"

"Will not!" Dan argued. "I can eat everything in the whole world!"

"Yeah, and then puke it all up in your bed," Jess snapped. "And then I'll have to clean the sheets, the floor, the clothes, and you."

Rory snickered. "Dan, how about some Chinese."

"Can I have McDonald's too?"

"No," Jess replied.

"Pizza?" Dan asked.

"No," Jess repeated. "One kind of food."

"You're no fun," Rory pouted.

Jess glared. "Would you like to clean up barf?"

Rory frowned. "How about we just stick with pizza?"

"But what about the Chinese?" Dan whined.

"We'll have it tomorrow," Rory promised.

Dan sighed. "Okay."

Jess shook his head and followed them to the pizza section.

oooooooo

Rory frowned as she glanced into Jess's refrigerator that evening after they'd gotten home. "Jess, didn't you go shopping?"

He sighed and leaned against the counter. "Knew I forgot to do something this week." He leaned over her to glance into the fridge. "What do we got?"

"Eggs, milk, a little cheese, syrup, and apples," Rory listed. "Along with some salad dressing."

"Huh." Jess got up and turned toward the small living room. "Dan!"

"Yeah?"

"You want breakfast for dinner?"

"Yeah!"

Rory blinked and got up. "What?"

"Eggs, milk, cheese, apples, and syrup. Plus the Bisquick in the cabinet, and the golden grams. We've got dinner."

"We could order out, you know," Rory snickered.

Jess shook his head, and began to gather the few items he needed. "This is better."

Dan rushed in and climbed up onto a counter. "Can I help?"

"Sure," Jess replied. He handed Dan an egg and held a metal bowl out. "Crack that egg into this bowl."

Dan looked at the egg, giggled, and proceeded to smash it against his head, before dropping it into the bowl. It left a slimy glob on his forehead.

"Huh," Jess said slowly, looking into the bowl.

Rory snickered. "You asked for that," she pointed out.

Jess handed Dan another egg. "How about you do this one right?"

Dan nodded, and cracked the egg against the bowl, splitting the shell. He dropped the yolk, and then used the shells to cover his eyes.

"Scary," Jess remarked flatly. "You wanna see something scarier?"

"What?" Dan asked.

Jess jutted his crooked lip out, crossed his eyes, and snarled.

Dan giggled and hopped down from the counter. "MONSTER!"

Jess smirked and continued cooking.

ooooooo

"Okay," Rory said as she swallowed a bite of pancakes. "We should have a game plan for Friday."

Jess nodded. "Okay. I get off of work at two, and then I pick up Dan."

"I get out at four," Rory replied. "Maybe we should meet up in Stars Hollow and go over with Mom."

Jess nodded. "Leave the cars there, and drive over and back with them."

Rory smiled. "Exactly." She turned to Dan. "You promise to be nice to my grandparents?"

Dan nodded. "I promise. Will there be orange soda?"

"I don't think so, Dan," Rory replied.

He frowned.

"We'll pack you a thermos," Jess reassured the five-year-old.

Dan smiled suddenly. "Okay." He went back to eating.

"What if things don't go well?" Jess asked.

"Then we deal with it," Rory said solidly.

"What if your grandmother still hates me?"

"We'll deal."

Jess sat back. "What if she tries to slice my head off with a steak knife?"

"Jess," Rory admonished.

"That woman hates me," Jess replied.

"Well, I love you, so she'll just have to be a little more understanding," Rory smirked.

Jess smirked back at her, and they stayed silent, until Dan started choking on his eggs.

"Jeez," Jess muttered. He patted his son on the back, and Dan spit up the eggs.

"Sorry," Dan coughed.

Rory got up. "I'll get him some water." She poured a glassful, and just as she set it down in front of Dan, her cell phone rang. She picked it up and sighed. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kid,"

Rory smiled, and held up a "one minute" finger to Jess. She made her way into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Hey, Mom."

"How did Jess take the dinner news?" Lorelai asked.

"A little better than I expected," Rory replied. "He didn't hit anything. It's just going to be awkward…"

"It won't be that awkward, will it?" Lorelai asked. "It's been eight years."

"Jess slipped the other night and has a black eye," Rory told her.

"Oh, he's toast."

"Don't say that," Rory pleaded. "I mean…like you said, it's been eight years…"

"This is going to be bad, Rory, you know that."

"Dan's cute!" Rory cried. "He'll make up for the black eye."

"One can hope," Lorelai muttered.

"Not helping."

Lorelai sighed. "I'm sorry, Babe. I'm just worried about this. Emily and Jess…they don't…"

"They don't get along, I know," Rory finished. "But I love Jess, and Grandma's… She's my grandma. I want them to be nice to each other."

"I know," Lorelai said. "Just don't go in with high expectations."

Rory frowned. "Yeah."

"So, what are the plans for Friday, since I probably won't speak to you too much until then?" Lorelai asked.

"We're gonna drive to Stars Hollow, and drive to Harford with you," Rory replied.

"Sounds good," Lorelai said. "Tell Jess I said hi, and give Dan a kiss for me. I'll see you Friday."

"Love you, Mom."

"Love you, too, Sweets."

Rory sighed and hung up.

ooooooo

"Are you awake?"

Jess rolled onto his side and faced Rory in the darkness of his bedroom. "Hi."

She smiled. "Hi."

He reached over and wrapped an arm around her waist. "What's up?"

"Are you nervous?" she asked, sliding closer.

Jess shrugged. "A little. I'm mostly tired…since it's three in the morning."

"Sorry," Rory replied, biting her lip. "I'm nervous."

He nodded. "Understandable. We did get into a really dumb fight the last time."

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "And we'll have Mom there."

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Hm?"

Rory sighed. "Can you maybe ask Luke to come?"

Jess frowned. "Do you remember what happened the last time he ate dinner there?"

She frowned back.

"Christopher showed up to proclaim his everlasting love to Lorelai, and Luke broke up with her because he couldn't handle all of her relationship craziness."

"Like you're one to talk about relationship craziness," Rory accused playfully.

"Never said I was," Jess replied. "I was quoting straight from the plaid, bitter horse's mouth."

She pouted. "Please? For me?"

"It seems as if I'm doing a lot for you lately, Gilmore," Jess teased.

Rory grinned. "Who got Dan to sleep on time with no mishaps tonight?"

"Huh," Jess commented. "Point."

"Dad?"

Both Jess and Rory sat up as Dan came into view in the doorway.

"Hey," Jess said. "What's up?"

"I had a bad dream," he replied.

Rory smiled and scooted over to make room between her and Jess.

Dan smiled and took a running leap onto the bed. He then crawled over and climbed under the covers.

Rory lay back down and smiled sweetly at Jess.

Jess sighed and shook his head.

oooooo

"No, Jess."

He groaned as he sat back at his desk that Monday. "Come on, Luke. One night."

"Do you know what happened the last time I went to dinner there?" Luke growled.

"Yeah, I know," Jess replied. "It's just…Rory's nervous…and I'm not exactly comfortable with this. We could use the back-up."

Luke paused. "What does Lorelai have to say?"

"No idea," Jess said. "Rory asked me to ask you."

"This is a bad idea," Luke groaned.

Jess smirked. "That's a yes, right?"

Luke sighed.


	3. 3

Orange Crush #3

Rory sighed as they reached the front door of the Gilmore manor. She turned to the group behind her.

Dan was wearing his black sweater with a white dress shirt underneath, a pair of black slacks, and a brand new pair of orange Chuck Tailors, all topped off with his blue winter coat.

Jess looked equally nice in his brown dress shirt and black slacks, covered by his usual leather jacket. Since he had recently gotten his hair cut, he was able to spike it up the way he'd done back in high school.

"Did you have to?" Luke asked, straightening out his tie.

"What?" Jess blinked.

"The hair," the older man muttered.

Jess merely smirked.

"Oh! Emily will just love you," Lorelai remarked. "Black eye, crazy hair…"

Jess sighed and put a couple of fingers to his still-discolored eye. "I'll be the belle of the ball," he joked.

"Like Cinderella?" Dan asked.

Lorelai nodded with a snicker. "Like Cinderella."

"Sing and I'll scream," Luke warned.

Dan giggled, until the door opened. Then he whisked behind Jess's legs.

Emily stared. "I heard voices."

"You want to seek some professional help for that," Lorelai said.

"Hi, Grandma."

Emily smiled. "Hello, Rory." She looked behind her granddaughter and frowned a little. "Hello, Luke; Jess…where's your son?"

"Behind me," Jess replied. "He's shy." He reached around and took Dan's hand, leading him to stand in front of him.

"Hello, there," Emily said with a fake smile and a chilly voice.

Rory knelt down to the boy. "Dan, this is my grandma."

Dan looked up at Emily and then whispered in Rory's ear.

Rory whispered back and then got to her feet.

"What did he say?" Emily asked.

Rory snickered as she walked into the house. "Nothing."

Dan followed her and looked up at Emily. "Hi."

"Hello," Emily replied suspiciously.

Dan opened his mouth to say something else, but turned to Jess instead and motioned for him to come closer.

Jess leaned down and Dan whispered in his ear. "He wants to know what he should call you."

Emily looked slightly perplexed. "Mrs. Gilmore is fine, I suppose."

Dan nodded and walked the rest of the way into the house.

Jess shrugged and followed, with Luke right behind him.

Lorelai smiled. "Hi, Mom."

"That is a very strange little boy."

"Aw, Mom. He's cute," Lorelai replied.

Emily narrowed her eyes as she watched Jess pick Dan up and carry him into the parlor. "I see Jess hasn't changed…with that black eye and his wild hair. I wonder if he'll be kind enough to grace us with his presence for the entire evening this time."

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

Jess sighed as he set Dan down on the couch next to Rory and looked around the parlor of the Gilmore household. Nothing had really changed…then again; it had been over ten years since he'd actually been there.

Dan looked around in wonder. It was like something out of a book. So many breakables, and the couch was soft! Their couch at home was better, but this one was really cushy.

Richard walked in at the point, a polite smile on his face. "Hello, all."

"Hi, Grandpa," Rory smiled. She got up and gave the old man a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"You as well," Richard nodded. He turned to Jess, who had gotten up along with Luke. "You must be Jess."

Jess nodded and held out a hand. "Hi."

Richard took the offered hand and gave it a shake. "It's good to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

Jess nodded. "I don't doubt that."

Richard gave a nod back, and then shook Luke's hand. "Hello, Luke."

"Hi, Richard."

Richard gave a polite grin and cleared his throat, glancing back at Dan.

Jess looked back as well, and gave a nod for Dan to come over.

The little boy got off of the couch and walked over slowly. He stopped when he reached Jess's side.

"Hello, Dan," Richard nodded. "I'm Rory's grandfather, Richard."

"Hi," Dan replied quietly.

"He's kinda shy," Jess explained.

"Ah," Richard nodded. "Well, it's very nice to meet you."

Dan nodded and looked around. "Your house is big."

Richard gave a small smile. "Well, I suppose it is."

Emily walked in with Lorelai and smiled at the group. "It's so nice that all of you could make it."

Rory smiled, taking Jess's hand. "Thanks, Grandma."

"Can I get everyone a drink?" Richard asked.

"Beer, please," Luke said.

"Martini," Lorelai said.

"Scotch, please," Jess said.

"Wine, please," Rory said.

"Orange soda!" Dan exclaimed.

Richard gave the boy an odd look, and Jess pulled out a bottle of soda.

Emily blinked.

"Don't ask," Jess muttered, as he opened the bottle and handing it to his son.

Dan smiled and took the bottle, slugging some soda down.

"Slow please," Jess said automatically.

Dan slowed down.

Richard cleared his throat and passed around drinks. "So, Lorelai, how was your week?"

"Good, Dad," Lorelai smiled, accepting her martini. "Michele was being a pain, as usual, and Sookie broke a finger, but everything's okay."

"Sookie broke a finger?" Emily asked, a little urgent. "Is she alright?"

"Oh, yeah, she's fine," Lorelai smiled. "This is the woman who once lit her hair on fire. Broken finger is nothing."

Richard sighed. "Rory? How is work?"

She nodded. "It's good. I think next week I'm gonna bring Dan with me. He seemed interested when I was explaining what I do."

"Rory writes stuff," Dan nodded slowly.

Emily and Richard shared a worried glance.

"That's…very nice," Richard nodded politely. "Luke, how is the diner?"

"Fine," Luke nodded, clearing his throat. "Everything's fine…the same."

"Well…Good," Richard replied.

"Jess, what do you do, these days?" Emily asked.

"I'm a book reviewer for the New York Times," Jess replied.

"A reviewer doesn't make very much," Richard commented.

"Dad," Lorelai admonished.

"Well, it's the truth," Richard replied. "How do you afford to support two people?" he asked curiously.

"I review concerts sometimes, too," Jess said slowly. "We scrimp…use coupons…sell drugs…"

"They get by, Grandpa," Rory said quickly.

"Sometimes I sell myself," Jess went on.

Luke smacked him upside the head.

Dan giggled and drank his soda.

"Does your ex-wife send child support?" Richard asked.

"Uh…we weren't married, and no, she doesn't," Jess replied coolly. "We decided it would be better if she wasn't in Dan's life at all."

"How can that better?" Emily asked.

"She broke my leg!" Dan said excitedly. "Wanna see the scars?"

Lorelai put an arm around Dan. "Mom, Dad, please, stop. Can't we just have a nice, pleasant dinner."

"I'm just curious as to how Jess manages to get by," Emily said innocently. "He has no high school or college diploma-"

"I took night classes," Jess cut in.

"He has a low-paying job-"

"It's not that bad."

"And another black eye-"

"That was my fault," Dan said guiltily.

Rory listened with shock in her eyes.

"And he's dating Rory again," Emily finished. "I think we should know, that, if things get more serious, he'll be able to support our granddaughter, as well as his own son, and he isn't just using Rory for her money."

"Excuse me?" Rory and Jess chorused.

"It's a valid concern," Richard said. "Rory's funds aren't exactly lacking."

"Neither are mine," Jess snapped.

"Oh, please," Emily muttered.

Dan blinked. "Dad wouldn't do that. We have money. He bought my sweater, and my pants, and my shoes, and my shirt, and my underwear!"

Richard cleared his throat. "Well, that's all well and good, son, but-"

"But nothing," Rory snapped.

"Dinner is ready," the maid said from the doorway of the parlor.

Rory nodded and got to her feet. "I am going into the dining room. If we sit down to dinner, and anyone brings up this topic again, we…" she motioned towards herself, Jess and Dan, "are leaving. Is that clear?"

Richard nodded slowly, and Emily gave a bitter expression.

"Good," Rory snapped. She whirled around and made her way into the other room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Orange Crush Pt. 4**

Dan looked to each adult as they sat in dead silence around the dining room table. He took his sipper cup of orange soda and sipped at it.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?" Jess asked, glancing at him from his plate.

"What's that?" Dan asked, pointing to a bowl on the table.

"What have we said about pointing?" Jess countered, raising an eyebrow at him.

Dan snatched back his hand. "Sorry."

Jess nodded. "S'okay. Rephrase, please."

"What's the gloopy stuff in the clear bowl?" Dan asked.

Jess studied the bowl and then shook his head. "No idea."

"It's Mashed Cauliflower," Emily said quickly. "It's very good."

"No, it's not," Lorelai whispered to Dan. "It'll turn you into a-"

"So!" Richard cut her off. "Jess! What have you been reading for The Times?"

"Ah, mostly garbage," Jess replied, picking a raison off of his salad. "We get a few gems here and there…a Christopher Moore occasionally, but nothing special."

"That's a bit judgmental," Emily commented. "Especially coming from someone who never graduated high school."

"Excuse me?" Jess asked.

"And we're leaving," Rory said, getting to her feet.

Richard sighed. "Rory…"

"I wasn't throwing you guys a bluff when I said that if things went sour we would leave," Rory said.

Emily gave her granddaughter an innocent look. "I don't know what I said. It's true, isn't it?"

"Mom, stop it," Lorelai snapped. "Rory, come on, Sweets. Just…one more chance."

Rory sighed and looked to Jess, who gave a nod. She slowly took her seat again.

The table resumed its silence for a long time, until Richard tried to make conversation once more.

"What grade are you in, Dan?" he asked.

"Kindergarten," Dan replied, drinking more soda.

"Ah, and how is that going?" Richard asked.

Dan nodded. "Good! I go in the morning and I wake Dad up and make sure he remembers all his stuff for work and then he drives me to school, and I play with Nate and Calvin and Jack, and then Dad picks me up and we have lunch, and then he works the rest of the day from home and I sit and do homework and watch movies and color and then at night, sometimes he goes out with Rory and then I get a babysitter, and that's really fun, cause…cause…Dean and Lindsay are fun and Dave and Lane let me stay up late and sometimes I wake up in the morning and Rory's there, and she spends weekends with us and I like to play fire engine at school!"

The entire table stared at him.

He blushed and looked down at his plate. "It's fine."

Jess grinned a little, and patted Dan on the shoulder. "We're gonna look up the word 'tangent' when we get home tonight, okay?"

"Word-look-up?" Dan asked, brightening up.

Jess nodded. "Word-look-up."

"Word-look-up?" Richard asked, confused.

Jess nodded. "Every time he discovers a new word, we go and look it up, and we add it to his big list of words."

"Show 'em," Rory encouraged, nudging the little boy.

"Can I?" Dan asked Jess.

Jess nodded. "Go on."

"Here we go," Luke muttered with a wry smile.

Jess cleared his throat. "Discombobulate."

"To throw into confusion," Dan recited.

"And in laymen's terms?" Rory asked.

"Make things go crazy," Dan replied.

"Rotunda," Lorelai said.

"A circular building with a dome roof," Dan said.

"Laymen's?" Jess asked.

"A building that's a circle with a bubble roof!"

"One more," Jess said. "Balalaika."

Dan thought for a moment. "A Russian instrument with three strings that sounds like a Mandolin."

"That's very nice that you know all of those big words," Richard smiled. "It's always wise to start their schooling early," he said to Jess.

"Well, this is more for fun than anything else," Jess replied.

"But he's learning and that's important," Richard smiled. "You know, Dan, when Rory was your age, she already knew which college she wanted to go to. Where are you thinking of going?"

"Jupiter!" Dan smiled.

Jess smirked. "We're not quite there yet."

"So, Dan, do you and Rory get along?" Emily asked casually.

Dan nodded. "She's my friend!"

Emily nodded back. "That's very nice. I'm sure your father thinks so, too."

"Uh…yeah, it's great," Jess said slowly. "It'd be a little awkward if they hated each other."

"Yes, of course," Emily replied coldly.

Silence fell over the table once more, and it was Lorelai's turn to look over the group gathered. Her eyes wandered past Rory's head, and out the window. "Oh, no," she whispered.

Luke blinked at her. "What's wrong?"

Lorelai got up and moved to the glass doors. "It's snowing."

"So?" Richard asked.

"It's…blizzard…ing," Lorelai said. She turned to Luke. "We can drive in this…right?"

Dan slid out of his chair and joined Lorelai at the double doors. "Can we make snow-people?"

"Maybe tomorrow morning," Jess muttered, turning to stare out the window. "Since it doesn't look like we'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

"We have the room," Richard said. "You all can stay the night."

"No," Lorelai replied nervously, turning back from the window. "That's okay. I'm sure it'll let up in an hour or so. And we'll be extra careful…Luke drives like an old lady anyways."

Luke rolled his eyes.

Rory bit her lip. "It looks pretty bad."

"Its fine," Lorelai snapped. "Really, it's fine."

"We can't drive in this, Mom," Rory said. "We'll get killed."

"At least we won't have to stay here," Lorelai hissed.

Emily narrowed her eyes. "I'm so glad you're grateful for our hospitality, Lorelai. I'll make sure and remember it."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "It's not that! I have to work in the morning, and Luke has to work in the morning, and I'm sure Jess and Rory and Dan have plans."

"Sleep," Rory offers weakly. "We were going to sleep."

Emily raised a very suspicious eyebrow. "Sleep?"

Dan nodded. "They always sleep in on weekends, and I have to wake them up because Dad won't let me cook breakfast."

Jess grinned. "Last time I slept in and let you make breakfast, I wound up on the floor, because you'd spilt orange juice everywhere."

Richard chuckled.

Emily shook her head, her expression stony as she got to her feet. "I'll go ask Illyana to make up a couple of rooms."

"Thanks, Grandma," Rory said. She glanced at Jess, who looked slightly awkward. This was going to be a longer night than she'd expected.


End file.
